The Rauf Report breaks down the top takeaways from the week of NCAA Basketball, headlined by a pair of mid-majors you need to know about.
Welcome to a new Rauf Report, where we’ll break down what matters from the past week of college hoops action!
Feast Week certainly provided a lot of said action, from the Empire Classic to the Maui Invitational to the Battle 4 Atlantis and much more — some of which is still ongoing. Statements were made around the country by a number of teams, to the point we can’t touch on all of it here.
Perhaps the most important thing that came away from the week was the top tier of teams that separated themselves from the pack. Purdue, UConn and Arizona have all put together both the extremely high level of play and early-season resumes that cement the triumvirate at the top of the sport. These three should be the atop the polls moving forward.
Marquette may very well be in the mix, too, as their 3-point loss to the Boilermakers in the Maui Invitational title game is the only blemish on their record. The emergence of Oso Ighodaro as one of the nation’s best big men has certainly helped with that, which is where we start this Rauf Report.
MORE HEAT CHECK CBB:
- Maui Invitational takeaways
- Weekly Awards: Weber State’s Dillon Jones dazzles
- Rauf Report: Trio of budding stars are emerging
Oso Ighodaro’s statement
The Golden Eagles had a good team coming into the season given what they returned. But Oso Ighodaro’s step forward may be the biggest reason why this year’s team might be better.
The 6-11, 235-pounder showed elite potential with his two-way play and passing ability as a junior, and now that potential has turned into increased production with a larger role. Ighodaro’s scoring and rebounding have both taken steps forward while maintaining his deft passing touch and elite rim protection.
What was impressive about this week in particular was who Ighodaro was producing against. Against a preseason first-team All-Pac-12 performer (Adem Bona) and the two frontrunners for National Player of the Year (Hunter Dickinson, Zach Edey), the Marquette big averaged 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while dominating for stretches.
His athleticism has proven to be an issue for many big men of similar size, and his ability to serve as Marquette’s secondary playmaker is the key to keeping its offensive humming at a high level. That was a question following the departure of Olivier-Maxence Prosper to the NBA. As it stands, Ighodaro’s growth from ‘quality role player’ to ‘legitimate star’ is a big reason why the Golden Eagles have legitimate Final Four hopes.
Kansas has real offensive limitations
Marquette’s victory over Kansas in the Maui semis really hammered this point home. The Golden Eagles led by double digits for a majority of their 73-59 win over the Jayhawks and, while it was certainly impressive how well Shaka Smart’s squad played, it was also clear that Kansas currently has some limits.
Playing catch-up throughout the game, the Jayhawks could only turn to Dickinson and Kevin McCullar. However, with Ighodaro limiting Dickinson from his typical production, Kansas needed someone else to step up — and no one really could. KJ Adams can’t create his own shot at this point in his development, and Dajuan Harris has gone back to being a passive scorer, something I mentioned last week needs to change.
It doesn’t help that Kansas really only has those four as offensive options. Towson transfer Nick Timberlake has really struggled in making the transition, and their three freshmen (Johnny Furphy, Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell) aren’t ready to make a consistent offensive impact. The lack of depth nearly cost Kansas against Kentucky, too, but it got career-best performances from Dickinson, McCullar and Harris.
Very few develop their rosters as well as Bill Self does, so those freshmen will likely be significant contributors by the end of the season. Self’s coaching — and the home-court advantage of Allen Fieldhouse — will keep Kansas right at the top of the Big 12. However, if the Jayhawks are to make a run in March, they need that development. Until then, their severely limited offensive options make them vulnerable and give them a real ceiling.
Virginia has a clear ceiling, too
It’s tough to talk about offensive limitations without mentioning Virginia, huh? The Wahoos really have not sported a good offense in the last five seasons, a large reason why they haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since hoisting the 2019 national title.
This Virginia team looks like it is going to fall victim to the same woes of those recent squads: There simply aren’t many dynamic offensive options on the roster. Reece Beekman has shown the ability to create offense out of structure (third nationally in assist rate), but no one else really has.
Ryan Dunn is a dominant defensive presence with some offensive potential, yet he isn’t a consistent contributor at this point in his career. No one else has hit double figures in any of the last three games, a stretch in which Virginia is scoring just over 52 points per game.
It’s not like UVA is suddenly playing elite competition, either! A 41-point showing against Wisconsin, who was blown out by Providence, was dreadful. Even in a win, the Cavaliers’ 56-point showing against a shorthanded West Virginia team, which barely ranks inside the KenPom top 100, didn’t inspire confidence.
Virginia’s offense currently has an adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 108.0, which ranks 89th in the country, per KenPom. The Cavaliers have only ranked outside the top 80 in adjusted offense in three of the past 11 seasons — which coincide with the only times they’ve missed the NCAA Tournament in that span.
Tony Bennett’s squad needs at least one other consistent contributor to step up to avoid this being the fourth team in 12 seasons to miss the Big Dance.
You need to pay attention to Colorado State
Conversely, Colorado State does not struggle offensively. In fact, the Rams have one of the best of the country. They rank in the top 11 nationally in raw offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage and assist rate, all products of head coach Niko Medved’s creative Princeton-style offense.
The Rams are small and don’t have a true big man (or anyone over 6-8) in their rotation. However, the flip side of that is they always have five players on the court that are threats from 3-point range and can pass the ball. With Colorado State’s series of cuts and principles of constant movement, it can cause a real headache for opposing defenses.
Colorado State entered the season with expectations of returning to the NCAA Tournament and looked impressive during the season’s first couple of weeks. But the Rams weren’t really tested much at first. That changed on Thursday when CSU faced Creighton and dominated the nation’s No. 8 team. Colorado State led by double digits for almost the entirety of its 69-48 win.
The win legitimized Colorado State’s start and signaled this team is for real. Point guard Isaiah Stevens led the way with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds. It was yet another exciting chapter in the storied career of one of the nation’s very best players.
This could be the start of an impressive run for the Rams, who should find themselves in the Top 25 next week. Three of their next four games are against Colorado, Washington and Saint Mary’s. If CSU is able to win at least two of those games, the buzz around this group will reach a fever pitch.
UTEP looks dangerous
A more surprising start has come from UTEP, which has started 5-1 in head coach Joe Golding’s third season. The Miners have posted wins over Big West favorite UC Santa Barbara and Cal, with the latter coming thanks to this fantastic finish:
Golding built Abilene Christian into a program that made two NCAA Tournament appearances in three seasons, culminating in a win over Texas in 2021. He has spent the past two seasons building up the Miners with an elite defensive identity, but this year’s team finally has some offensive pop with Tae Hardy (16.7 ppg, 4.5 apg) and Zid Powell (12.5 ppg, 3.5 apg).
Conference USA was forced to retool itself this offseason with the departures of six teams, headlined by FAU, North Texas and UAB. However, with the emergence of UTEP, Liberty and Louisiana Tech, the race for the C-USA title looks to be an extremely competitive one.